Winter's Bone - Break
We all know Jennifer Lawrence is Hollywood's new sweetheart, and rightfully so. She is young, talented, attractive, and someone you would want to hang out with. She is Julia Roberts without the toothy grin. She is the girl that all the other girls want to be and all the guys want to be with. She's a revelation if you will. When I first got a glimpse of her on the red carpet of the Oscars about two years ago, I really didn't know what to make of her. She was this young new face with a smart mouth. Sorry, but I kind of took her for a bitch, like she was too good for the Oscars. I look at her now, and she is down right adorable and so self-deprecating, it's irresistible. I also appreciate the fact that she takes chances, and makes the role her own. For a perfect example of what made her a star before she became a star was her first major role in 2010's "Winter's Bone."

You can call "Bone" a "White Trash Noir." Lawrence plays Ree, a 17-year old girl taking care of her
two younger siblings without the help of her drug-affected absentee mother and meth-dealing father. After her father skips town, she finds out that he put
their house up for bond and the whole family could be homeless within a
week. Ree takes it upon herself to track down her father and navigate a
neighborhood full of drug dealers, murderers, and crooked cops.

The story is simple, but the themes of innocence lost, family
responsibility, and loyalty run deep in this film. In Lawrence's
portrayal of Ree you can see the reason why she was chosen to be the lead in
"The Hunger Games" as Katniss Everdeen. She is a strong female
protagonist, probably the strongest female character I've seen in years who
isn't a superhero, but she still has a vulnerability to her as she navigates
her dangerous world with two younger siblings in tow. You want to grab
her and tell her to stop in her quest for her father, especially when you see
some of the people that she has to deal with in trying to find the answers.

While Lawrence is great, I also have to tip my cap to John Hawkes, who plays
crystal meth dealer, and Ree's uncle, Teardrop. Think Walter White if he
was from rural Arkansas, only scarier. He's the last guy that you want to
ask help from, and the last guy you want looking for you if a deal went south.
Hawkes is one of those guys that's in a lot of stuff but he never reallygets credit. I remember seeing him for the first time as
the Liquor Store Clerk in "From Dusk Till Dawn," and he
pops into movies every now and than and leaves an impressions every time.
I like to think of him as the poor man's Walton Goggins. Hawkes was
nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal in "Bone," and rightfully so.

If you haven't already, there's no reason to not check out "Winter's
Bone." It's the genesis of Jennifer Lawrence; where she got her break if
you will. She commands every scene she is in, is a natural, and strikes
the perfect balance between tough and fragile. You never get the sense
that she is doing anything for herself, mother or father, she knows that they
are all beyond redemption. Her only care is the welfare of her brother
and sister, which in a time where everyone is so wrapped up in their own world,
is a welcome relief in film.

Fun Fact: In the year that "Winter's Bone" was nominated for
Best Motion Picture at the Academy Awards, it had the smallest production
budget at only $2 Million, compared to the budget of "Toy Story 3"
which was $200 Million, the most expensive film nominated that year.